Comparison

Chess vs The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Chess

This app offers a high-quality chess experience for players of all levels, from beginners to professionals. It features a strong engine, analysis tools, and learning resources to improve your game.

Highlights
  • Simulated human opponents for beginners
  • Top-tier chess engine for experts
  • Real-time game analysis
  • 1 or 2-player game support
  • Opening Library and PGN Database
  • Position Editor
  • Rated games and progress tracking
Features
Read full description

tChess Pro is the high-quality, critically acclaimed chess game with the richest features for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It's perfect for every player: Beginners: Not everybody is a chess master! Most chess games are too strong or just make random mistakes at easier levels. tChess Pro has unique algorithms to simulate human opponents. Experts: tChess Pro has a top-tier chess engine. (Over 380 ELO points stronger than Caissa Chess.) Enthusiasts: tChess Pro's Analysis Mode is like having a chess master in your pocket. You can get the engine's "expert opinion" about any game or position in real-time: which side is winning, and the best sequence of moves. Just like a professional desktop chess package. More key features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games - Strong computer opponent - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 2500 - Integrated "Learn Chess" e-book app (Apple Staff Favorite!) - Opening Library feature lets you explore chess opening theory as you play - PGN Database feature lets you download and view PGN files - Support for 3-stage time controls with Fischer increments - Position Editor to enter positions from books, newspapers, etc. - Save and load games; export them in standard PGN format - Use the Profile feature to play rated games against the computer and track your progress tChess Pro is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.

About

The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~

Engage in a challenging chess experience with 100 adjustable difficulty levels powered by the "Crazy Bishop" engine. Track your progress with ELO ratings, earn medals for achievements, and customize your game with different board and piece designs. Analyze positions and review past games to improve your skills.

Highlights
  • 100 adjustable playing levels
  • ELO rating for progress tracking
  • Medal system for achievements
  • Human vs Computer and Human vs Human modes
  • Position analysis and editing
  • Hint and review facilities
  • Save/Load game records
  • PGN file support
Features
Read full description

The Chess has 100 adjustable playing levels based on the engine "Crazy Bishop" with very high quality graphics! --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chess is a "universal binary" and supports all of iPhone/iPod touch/iPad! Adjustable playing strength from 100 levels! You can choose the strength of the computer from 258 to 2300 in ELO rating. Level 1 is extremely weak, and Level 100 is extremely difficult to beat! The Chess has 100 different levels of play from beginner to expert! Challenge to win medals by defeating computer! You will be rewarded to enable changing the board style and pieces design by collecting medals. (Normal mode only) Other Features: - High resolution Retina Display support - Human vs Computer, Human vs Human(sharing a single device) - Computer gives your level evaluation by ELO rating in rating mode, very useful for tracking your progress - Let you know your turn by vibration - Enter and analyze any position you like in edit mode - Hint facility to improve your game - Review mode during a game - Save/Load game records - Supporting PGN file for both reading and writing - PGN files can be transferred from your computer over USB cable on the iTunes - Export game records via e-mail in text format or as a PGN file - Enable to view full game history in the game record and restart game from the selected move, which should be very practical for improving your chess - Autosaves your current game

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chess at 4.7 against The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~'s 3.3. Chess also leads on ratings volume (250 vs 3) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 12 months). The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~'s advantage is price ($0.99 vs $7.99) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 26.0). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Chess costs $7.99 and The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess has 250 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 83% of The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 4 months, The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ every 12 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess versus The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessThe Chess ~Crazy Bishop~
Price$7.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.7 (250 ratings) — better3.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews — better83.0% of reviews
Number of ratings250 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTom KerriganUNBALANCE Corporation

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings251 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.6%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews415 reviews
Positive88.7%
Neutral6.3%
Negative5.1%

The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive83.0%
Neutral2.1%
Negative14.9%

Bugs and requests

Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when creating annotations
  • Zoomed-in screen issue when returning to the app
  • Difficulty settings not accurately reflecting the AI's strength

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add chess puzzles
  • Provide more board and piece style options
  • Implement a resign feature and draw offer
  • Add a move evaluation bar
  • Improve the online multiplayer experience
Show 1 more
  • Provide a way to organize and navigate through game databases

The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

None

The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ free?
The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess or The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~?
Chess is rated higher. Chess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 250 ratings, while The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ averages 3.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Chess or The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ have ads?
Neither Chess nor The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~?
Chess ships an update every 4 months, and The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ every 12 months. Most recently, Chess was updated on November 6, 2026 and The Chess ~Crazy Bishop~ on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons